Pretty Little Liars Burning Question: Did Caleb Know Ali Before He Moved to Rosewood?

We’ve been trying to interpret that long look Pretty Little Liars’Alison (Sasha Pieterse) and Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) shared upon their apparent first meeting since it happened in the fifth episode of the season. Did the last episode, which saw Ali living rough in the basement of an abandoned building, give us the clue we needed? Did Caleb know Ali before he ever moved to Rosewood?

Caleb was homeless. When we first met Caleb, he was living in the school because he didn’t have anywhere else to go. It is implied that this isn’t the first time that Caleb has had to find his own accommodations, choosing to live somewhere other than the crappy foster homes he’s been a part of. Could Caleb have been one of the kid Ali lived with in the basement of that abandoned building?

The photo evidence. Tumblr user KTLODOlife outlines the theory that Alison and Caleb met before coming to Rosewood, using this screenshot from the last episode that shows someone who looks a lot like Caleb sitting in the background of the basement as Ali flashes back to her time there. This would not only prove that Ali was at least partially telling the truth about her flashback, but that Caleb and Ali have met before. Then again, the person in the photo could have been Cyrus — or some random extra.

That look. OK, we need to reemphasize just how loaded the look shared between Ali and Caleb in the 100th episode. Go back and watch, we’ll wait. Sure, the surprise on Caleb’s face could be because he’s seeing Ali, the person he’s heard so much about, for the first time. Or it could be the realization that he met Ali several years prior. Of course, for that reading to work, it would mean Caleb either didn’t see a photo of Ali before this episode or knew she was alive this whole time, both of which seem unlikely.

Thier confrontation scene. In Season 5, Episode 7, Ali and Caleb share a chat while signing in to take their high school entrance/exit exams. The convo is loaded with hostile subtext. At the time, we thought Caleb’s hostility towards Ali had to do with the fact that she was dragging Hanna into another web of lies. That could have been partially it, but if you rewatch the scene wondering if these two have met before, it reveals some interesting readings. “That what you learn those two years someone had you in a box?” Caleb barks at Ali, daring her to admit she wasn’t kidnapped. Later the two share this seemingly obvious exchange:

Caleb: “I don’t know you that well.”

Ali: “You don’t know me at all.”

Is that true? Or are these two avoiding discussing the history they share?

The rumored kiss. Before Season 5 premiered, PLL writer Bryan Holdman shared this tweet: “Ali and Caleb, sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G…” and Marlene King claimed Ali and Caleb would have “chemistry” when they meet. So far, we haven’t seen much of either. Could these spoiler refer to a meeting that happened before Caleb ever came to Rosewood?

Do you think Caleb and Ali met before Caleb moved to Rosewood? Why or why not? Sound off in the comments below!

Catch the next episode of Pretty Little Liars on Tuesday, August 19 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC Family.